Interstellar Naught

Jeff Boshart - Charleston, Illinois
2013**Best of Show**

Artist's StatementWhen I ask my students to look at a sculpture they tell me they see the sculpture and describe it quite accurately. However, they almost always neglect to tell me what was beyond the physical form of the artwork. My sculptures follow in the traditions of the Constructivists and David Smith. Smith did a series of CUBIs (polished, stainless steel, stacked boxes) that delightfully reflect their surroundings. My THEB constructions (transparent, hollow, empty boxes) lack those reflective surfaces but allow you to see through the sculpture. Are the boxes empty or do they contain the environment beyond the sculpture? Do they diminish the site or enhance your awareness of it. Can you choose which focus you have intellectually or aesthetically? The sculptures do not compete with their setting but then they do their best to hold their own with an intimidating scale when you are up close but display a more playful aspect when seen from afar. I love this push and pull not to mention the use of more formal art elements as I construct them. You never get too old to stack boxes.

Artist's BioI have taught art at the university level for over 30 years. I have installed over 34 large scale, site-specific sculpture around the country. I have won dozens of awards related to my art and been published in several magazines and catalogues. I have judged over 75 art exhibitions. I have conducted numerous worksshops from pre-schoolers, to graduate programs at major universities. I grew up in Iowa, BA in Art-Sculpture from Montana State University in Bozeman, MT, and completed my MFA in Sculpture at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in1981.